Five.
Mickey was surrounded by five eyeless hyenas that had gotten a taste of his blood!
'Where are the Book Lords at a time like this?' Mickey rolled his eyes at that thought. He knew his situation very well; he was not expecting help in the first place. 'There's got to be something I can use, right?'
He stayed on the ground and took the razor from his pocket before sighing. 'The thoughts of a fool living in a broken house that could collapse at any moment instead of not living at all.'
Now he had to be that fool.
He took off his shirt and threw it at the hyena coming from his left, then scratched at the hyena that was in the direction of his head.
The hyena on his left pounced on the purple shirt, and its fangs scratched Mickey's chest lightly, exposing his ribs and sending some of his atoms flying into the air.
Mickey did not have time to scream as he rolled his head to the side to avoid the hyena that wanted to step on him.
His plan had failed spectacularly!
He had hoped to make the hyena near his head attack the one on the left, then make a run for it.
Hehehe!
The two hyenas approaching his legs laughed, and Mickey's face twisted in horror. 'Damn!'
He took off his pants and stood up!
The only thing he could rely on was his ability to remain scentless.
One of the hyenas jumped at his pants and quickly made use of them.
With no noise around, the hyenas began to sniff the air, and Mickey sweated profusely. 'It's too hot!'
He was just making excuses.
One of the eyeless hyenas sniffed his arm while he did his best to tiptoe away from the group of five.
Its mouth opened wide, and Mickey didn't wait to see what would happen next; he started to run. The hyena managed to get a taste of his forearm, releasing a crazy laugh that caught the attention of the other beasts.
Mickey did not stop running and took the first turn he saw. The eyeless hyenas followed. Before he could stick to the corner, one hyena headbutted him, sending him into the main street where people were cheering.
His skin scraped against the ground, leaving a trail of blood, and Mickey could only grit his teeth and swallow the pain.
Swish…
Thwack…
An arrow made of fire struck the hyena that was about to jump at Mickey. "Stupid creatures! I will slaughter you all!"
Four more flaming arrows flew from the direction of the loud voice, killing the beast on the spot. The cheering around the street intensified.
"Young hero! Thank you for saving us!"
"You really are a chivalrous hero!"
Mickey stayed on the ground and pretended to be dead. Although his eyes danced with joy at the sight of the flaming arrows, he didn't risk looking at the person who had fired them.
The Book Lord grinned as he walked toward Mickey's position. "All of you mortals, gather here! I will protect you!"
The hidden people emerged with joyous faces, surrounding the young Book Lord in a pink school uniform, bowing to him.
When they were all close, his expression turned cold as he looked in the direction from which more eyeless hyenas were coming. "Fireball!"
The kneeling crowd breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this name but soon frowned when they saw what appeared before the Book Lord.
It was a tiny cloud of fire that fell to the ground.
"Damn it! I ran out of Qi!" the Book Lord cursed in frustration, while Mickey, trying to crawl away, cursed him even more.
'How useless!'
The Book Lord looked at the crowd kneeling before him and ordered, "You lot, go stall those low-realm profound beasts for me! I promise to save you all when I recover my Qi!"
"But, Sir Book Lord, we—" a man tried to voice his thoughts but ended up getting slapped in the face.
"Anyone who disobeys me will die! Hear that! Die! Hurry up and do as I say!"
The group of mortals rushed toward the eyeless hyenas, stepping on Mickey, who had no idea what they were talking about.
The law stated: Book Lords reign over all mortals.
There was nothing they could do about it.
He turned toward the young Book Lord, who was struggling to run away, abandoning the group.
'Nice choice!' Mickey thought before rushing after the Book Lord, who was turning around an apartment building.
"Eh?" The Book Lord was startled when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned back with wide eyes. "You mortal! Why aren't you doing what I ordered you to do?"
Mickey didn't understand what he was saying, but judging by the Book Lord's expression, he thought, 'Even a god wouldn't dare to order me around.'
Wham!
Mickey delivered a perfect punch to the Book Lord's face, leaving his nose bleeding.
"You!!" the Book Lord screamed, but Mickey followed up with a kick between his legs.
"Ah!"
The Book Lord opened his mouth in horror, and Mickey pressed the razor against the back of his neck. It was human skin, and within seconds, blood erupted as he fell to the ground.
Plop…
Mickey had killed a Book Lord! This was a serious offense, and death seemed too light a punishment!
Mickey coldly regarded the Book Lord's chest, and when two books emerged, he snatched them and tore them to shreds.
Hehehe…
Just as he expected, a group of hyenas came from the direction the Book Lord had been heading.
His expression remained unchanged as he pressed himself against the wall. When the hyenas began to feast on the dead Book Lord, Mickey quietly moved to the edge of the alley, then took the only turn into a narrow passage between three towering buildings.
It was a dead end.
Mickey didn't mind and staggered to the end of the dark alley. "I've seen this place before. It's best for me to hide here until all the commotion dies down. Luring out the hyenas by creating a disturbance with that Book Lord was the best idea."
After what seemed like an eternity, Mickey reached the end of the alley and leaned against the brick wall.
The bloody wounds on his back, chest, and forearm throbbed painfully, but he knew better than to scream.
'At this rate, I'll die from blood loss.'
As he began to feel lightheaded, the sound of high heels echoed from the front of the alley, and his expression turned ashen. 'Was another Book Lord spying on me?'
However, when he looked at the person's face, he felt relieved. A surge of memories and emotions struck him, and he was forced to sleep.